House Committee Votes to Oveturn D.C. Assisted Suicide Law

By Cassy FianoLive Action News - February 15, 2017

Towards the end of last year, Washington, D.C., lawmakers voted to approve a bill legalizing assisted suicide. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed it into law, although there was strong opposition from D.C. residents. But Republicans quickly took action to block the bill, which was sent to Congress for a 30-day review period. The resolution to block the bill has 30 legislative days to be passed by Congress and signed by the president. And Republicans have taken their first step towards overturning the law, with the U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee voting against it, 22-14.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) introduced the resolution in January condemning the bill. “Washington, DC’s assisted suicide bill would erode our culture’s respect for life, and possibly lead to the mistreatment and exploitation of the disabled and most vulnerable among us,” they said in a statement. They were joined in their opposition by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees D.C. affairs. “I worry that assisted suicide will create a marketplace for death,” he said. “I think it’s fundamentally wrong.” He also argued that the law has “serious flaws.”

More than a dozen congressmen voiced their opinion on the bill, and while it passed the committee, some argued in favor of the assisted suicide bill. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, said, “Do the right thing and mind your own business.” Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s congressional representative, argued that congressional lawmakers can allow the bill to stand, even if they disagree with it. “We are asking you to agree with American doctrine that local laws are for local residents,” she said.Fu

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